Demian Maia and Diego Sanchez have expressed a mutual interest in fighting one another for their next bouts.
Both UFC veterans are coming off of victories, and following Sanchez defeating Mickey Gall at UFC 235, Sanchez immediately expressed an interest in fighting the #9 ranked Demian Maia next. Though Sanchez is unranked, he is undoubtedly one of the most respected names in the UFC, which is, in part, why Demian Maia is fully on board with the idea of sharing the Octagon with him:
“I have a lot of respect for Diego, he is a warrior, and like I said on my Twitter, you can never underestimate experience,” Maia told MMA Fighting. “I really thought it was nice to see him go against the odds and get the win. It’s not easy to be competing at a high level for so long, it’s a tough game, and he deserves a lot of recognition. So, I would be honored to compete against him, after all the history we both have in the sport. Why not?
Demian Maia stated that talks of the two facing off have dated back to last May prior to Maia’s fight against Kamaru Usman. The timing was not right then, but Maia believes it is perfect now:
“I think if there’s a time this can make sense, it is now,” Maia said, “and if it doesn’t happen now, it most likely won’t ever happen.
“So ideally any card around May or June would be interesting with the right opponent. With that said, I leave that to (manager) Eduardo (Alonso) and the UFC, and I trust them to come up with something that makes sense for everybody, whether is Diego or someone else.”
Is a fight between Demian Maia and Diego Sanchez something you would like to see next for both competitors?
